“This is the ideal new home for the Exploratorium,” museum Executive Director Dennis Bartels told the commission. “It’s truly accessible to everyone, and on the city’s front porch to the world.”

Relocating from the Palace of Fine Arts space where the museum started in 1969 to a spot along the Embarcadero between the Ferry Building and Pier 39 puts the museum within easy reach of visitors riding BART, Muni and ferries. Annual attendance is expected to jump from 600,000 to 800,000.

There has so far been perhaps surprisingly little opposition to a project slated for one of the city’s most sensitive development areas.

Other steps remain, including agreeing to a lease with the Port of San Francisco and final project approvals.